Monthly Archives: April 2011

More Affordable Than Ever

The Housing Affordability Index reached a record high of 192.3 for February, 2011. Two contributing factors to the Index are the price adjustments homes have experienced in recent years combined with the unusually low mortgage rates make this an outsta...

Rent or Buy…You Pay for the House You Occupy

Whether you rent or buy, you pay for the house you occupy. You must live somewhere and there's a price to pay for it. A simple analysis will show you whether it's cheaper to rent or buy. Some people don't have any choice but to rent because they don't ...

Lower your FHA Mortgage Payment

Most FHA loans have monthly mortgage insurance required that must stay in force until the unpaid balance is reduced to 78% of the original sales price.  It would take about 10.5 to 12.7 years of normal amortization for loans with rates of 5% to 7...

Lower Assessment = Lower Taxes

Many homeowners are overlooking an opportunity to lower their property taxes by not challenging their tax assessment.  Property values have decreased in the past two to three years and the assessment may not reflect the current market value. Deadl...